What a challenge today! Themeless puzzles utilizing grid-spanning entries are sometimes super-easy, as a single long answer dropped ...
read moreWhat a challenge today! Themeless puzzles utilizing grid-spanning entries are sometimes super-easy, as a single long answer dropped into place can break the puzzle wide open. Not so today for me, as the tricky cluing and the very difficult crossing words made it a workout.
This is a quasi-triple stack; the 11/13/15 arrangement bringing similar constructing challenges to a 15/15/15. As with most triple-stacks, it's very important to pick spicy long answers, as these will typically be the majority of a grid's feature answers. Alan does very well today in that regard, headlined by CONTACT LENSES and its fantastic clue. Beautiful example of misdirection! Each of his six long answers are solid to snazzy, my favorite being DAR ES SALAAM which I could not parse for the longest time. I knew SALAAM from "salaam alaikum", the Muslim greeting meaning "peace to you", but trying to suss out what might mean "haven" was a tough (but fun) task. Excellent work here.
As with many triple-stack creations, one or more crossings tend to be less than stellar. It's simply near impossible to come up with six snappy long entries and have each of the 30 crossings be perfectly clean. Today is no exception, with entries such as ASDF, CHOLER, OST, and the REs (RETYPE/RESTYLE) rearing their heads.
I admire the construction challenge. A 66-word puzzle using two sets of triple-stacks is no mean feat. The upside is that having more good long answers enhances the solving experience. I smiled at SCHNOOKS, OSTEOPATHS, PRESSES ON and TOP SECRET, amazed at the amount of nice long fill Alan squeezed in. The price to pay for those extra long answers was high though, forcing a mashup of FRIA/LATHS/SAINTE/KNT in the NE. MEERKAT is a lovely piece of fill there, but overall, that region made my solving experience less enjoyable.
As always, themeless puzzles demand trade-offs. Beautiful long answers today with some great clues, but the quality of short fill dragged things down. Still, I was glad to learn a few new words.